“The lead up to the draft was pretty draining. I had a lot of interviews with clubs and a lot of meetings. The whole process of not knowing where you could go, because you can end up in any state, was nerve racking. The week leading up to the draft felt like it went forever, so it was a good relief to get picked up in my home state. The draft was on the Thursday night, and we went to a training camp in Blanchetown on the Saturday. It all happened pretty quickly and we were thrown straight into the deep end, but they eased the first year guys into training which helped.
“I managed to get through pre-season unscathed and with our altered program it got me through. I had some trouble with my calf so I missed maybe a week of training, but besides that I got through pretty well. It is a full on few months. Learning the game plans took a while getting used to. There’s a lot more tactics than in the SANFL, so I spent a lot of time on the computer and with the line coaches figuring out the zones and different plays. At the same time you’re trying to get through all of the training. It was a draining process and when I got home every day it was straight to bed and get up and do it all again the next day.
“I set a goal to play in that first NAB Cup game, I knew I needed to have a good pre-season to do that. I tried to impress out on the track and I got my chance. The first few NAB Challenge games I got used to travelling to Melbourne to play. That was a good experience to get used to before the season started. Also just spending a bit more time with the boys and getting to know them all better was a good experience. I’d had a good pre-season, and the week before round one I’d only played a half against Richmond, so I wasn’t really sure where I was at. I thought I’d be in the 25 man squad, and I found out on the Wednesday when Neil gave me a call and said I was in the 22 and would be the sub. I was a little bit surprised, I didn’t expect it, but it was a great feeling.
“When I came to grips with the fact I was actually playing in that first game the nerves started to kick in. With the expectations of how I would go and if I’d be good enough to play, being the sub calmed me down a bit because I knew I would be able to sit on the bench for a bit and take the game in. It turns out that didn’t happen with Porp’s going down early. It was good to get a full game and I went alright. When I first ran out in the first quarter, it felt like I was running around like a headless chook. All the feelings were going through my body and I was just trying to get a kick. I didn’t feel buggered because there was so much adrenalin going through my body. Once I got over that I stated to play footy and get my head around it.
“The feeling after the game was unreal. All the past players back in the room, it was a come from behind win so everyone was pumped up. Me and Blinga (Richard Tambling) in the middle of the circle after the game singing the song was an awesome feeling. It was the best feeling I’ve had on a footy field so it was a great debut.
“I got injured in the Brisbane game in round ten, so since then I’ve been able to experience rehab during the year. Then going back to the SANFL and find some form back there. I had the experience of playing with a different team at South Reserves because the Eagles had the bye. I’ve done a lot of new things over the last few months. It’s been a good experience and a new learning curve.
“I played 14 games which I was happy with and thought I was playing pretty good footy. I was getting benchmark performances most weeks. I was a little up and down in the middle there and the Brisbane game was probably my worst game. So I lost a little bit of form before the injury and the confidence was a little bit down after that. Spent a few weeks in rehab and it probably took me three or four weeks in the SANFL to get some good form back.
“As a junior I played my footy in the midfield and I really enjoy it in there. I’ve been playing on the wing at the moment, so if I can push to play in the centre square in the next few years it’d be good to get in there and become a strong midfielder for the club.”
